HUNT is based on the true story of Senator Lester Hunt, a Democrat and popular former governor from Wyoming. It takes place in the early 1950s, when the United States is in the midst of a “Cold War” with the communist-led Soviet Union.

Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin fans the flames of fear, accusing thousands of Americans of being communists. He also targets people he claims are homosexuals. Hunt is one Senator who has opposed McCarthy’s tactics.

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Republicans control the entire U.S. government for the first time in a generation, but their margin in the Senate is precarious. When Hunt’s son is arrested for soliciting sex from a male police officer in Lafayette Park, they seize the opportunity to try to force Senator Hunt to resign so they can take his seat. Wyoming’s Republican governor would appoint a Republican to replace him, securing the Republicans’ Senate majority going into the 1954 elections.

Hunt resists repeated attempts by McCarthy’s allies to blackmail him, but they persist, pushing Hunt ever closer to the brink of tragedy.​